1. Background
The invention generally relates to the field of exercise devices and their method of use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rowing a boat or paddling a kayak are activities that are known to provide an individual with good exercise by increasing the heart rate and training muscles. A variety of exercise equipment has been developed to simulate the motions of rowing or paddling that allow a user to obtain the benefits of these types of activities in a gym or home setting. However, many of these devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,687,197 to Larsson et al., 4,717,145 to Chininis, and 7,335,143 to Lundahl can be large, bulky devices that require a lot of room for storage, have multiple components and can often be very expensive. Slightly more portable exercise devices have been developed, such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2008/0280738 to Brennan et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,677 to Drapeau, however they require securing the device to a stable structure, which can limit the ease of portability of the device and in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,677 can still have multiple moving components. Even devices such as those disclose in U.S. Patent Application No. 2009/0036276 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,876, which do not require securing to stable structure, are still bulky and not easily portable from place to place. U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0204020 to Thomas et al. discloses an exercise device for mimicking a canoe paddle, however it has moving parts which limit its use in outdoor settings. In addition, these smaller devices are often only capable of assisting the user in performing a limited number of exercises and training a limited number of muscle groups.
Traditional kayak paddles, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,796,862 to Abbenhouse et al., 4,610,633 to Freudenberg, 5,842,830 to Franznick and 6,328,617 to Gunnell are typically designed to be light weight and only meant for use in paddling through water.